Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

“Master, what’s so good about Feng Shao that makes you think so much about him?”

Seeing that she couldn't seduce Wen Yue Ning, Qing Tang got up again.

He walked up to Wen Yuening, straddled her lap, hooked one arm around the back of her neck, and placed the fingertips of his other hand on Wen Yuening's cheek, gently circling it and sliding it down her chin.

"You're buying him time, aren't you?"

As soon as Wen Yuening finished speaking, in a flash, she pressed down on Qing Tang's shoulder blades, grabbed the hand that was messing with her face, and pressed the other person back into the chair.

Looking down at Qing Tang, he asked, "What benefits did he promise you?"

"When you came, were you drunk and talking nonsense? I have devoted myself to you, how could I do anything to betray you?"

Qing Tang did not resist. She slightly twisted her waist and sat back comfortably, her captivating eyes gazing tenderly at Wen Yue Ning.

"You've been with me for a long time, you should know my temper. Tell me, where is he?"

Wen Yuening had no idea what tricks Feng Shao was playing, but her intuition told her that the longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it might be for her.

"Sect Master, you are greatly angered..."

Qing Tang was sent flying by Wen Yuening's palm strike and crashed heavily to the ground.

Too lazy to waste any more words with the other party, she headed straight for the houses nearby.

The absence of Qingzhi and Wenque, who were supposed to live here, filled her with a sense of foreboding.

As soon as the door to the last room was pushed open, a sharp sword shot out from inside. The attacker moved swiftly and with lightning speed, aiming straight for Wen Yuening's throat.

Even though she was extremely careful, she still managed to scrape her skin a little, and a trickle of red blood seeped out.

"Ah--"

While dodging, Wen Yuening felt somewhat powerless, and her legs felt slightly unsteady.

"Your Excellency has been taking medicine for so long, yet you still possess such skill. I underestimated you."

Feng Shao stood there with his sword in hand, not in a hurry to attack, his face showing undisguised arrogance, and then he laughed loudly without restraint.

"I thought you would wait a few more days, at least until your master found out my identity, before you made your move. I never expected you to be so eager to take my place."

Wen Yuening wiped the blood that had seeped out from the left side of her neck with her hand and looked at Feng Shao with a cold smile.

"Master, there's no use in you holding on now. I've already transferred Qingzhi and Wenque to Zhongdu. There are no helpers for you here."

Compared to the branch in Zhongdu, the main pavilion of the Soul-Hooking Pavilion is worlds apart. However, the reason why Wen Yuening made this place her lair was simply because it was convenient for raising carrier pigeons and was sparsely populated, so many documents could be stored here without fear of damage.

But now that I think about it, this place is probably not very safe anymore. After dealing with this person, I should quickly order someone to move this stronghold.

The drug began to take effect, and Wen Yuening felt dizzy and gradually could no longer see the people in front of her.

Her body swayed, but the fact that Wen Yuening was unarmed did not make Feng Shao lower his guard.

He knew that the other party had a trump card, which was on the silver bracelet on the wrist.

He approached Wen Yuening very carefully, his hand holding the sword unconsciously tightening.

After all, some people were dissatisfied with Wen Yuening taking the position of Pavilion Master and challenged her for several days, but all of them were defeated.

If he hadn't resorted to despicable means, his chances of defeating his opponent would have been only one in ten thousand.

Even in this situation, he dared not let his guard down.

"With such little courage, how dare you claim the position of Pavilion Master? It seems that I entrusted you with managing the affairs of the Pavilion for the past six months, which has fueled your wolfish ambitions but left you with no real ability to match them."

The voice was soft and gentle, no longer the deep male voice it had when it first arrived; upon closer listening, it vaguely resembled a female voice.

Feng Shao was not angered by Wen Yuening's sarcasm and slowly approached.

After confirming that he was at a safe distance, he slashed at the opponent's right wrist with his sword.

"You're quite careful, but unfortunately, you're still lacking in skill."

Wen Yuening's dark eyes shifted, her cold gaze revealing a murderous aura.

The bracelet has an ingenious clasp that, when twisted forcefully, instantly transforms into a specially made silver wristband about one meter long.

With a gust of wind and a repressive yet powerful aura, it tightened around Feng Shao's neck.

The speed was so fast that Feng Shao had no time to react, and there was no longer any limp feeling after taking the Chinese medicine.

He hurriedly used his sword to counter the opponent's grip, preventing his head from rolling on the ground in an instant.

At that moment, a series of "thump-thump!" sounds came from behind him.

They were the men in black who had been at the courtyard gate earlier. Qingzhi and Wenque had all taken them down and thrown them in.

"You...you don't have any Chinese medicine!"

"Feng Shao, you don't actually think I would be coerced by you to harm the Pavilion Master, do you? I can't bear to see the person who provides me with a golden rice bowl die."

Qingtang and Qingzhi stood side by side, watching the disheveled Fengshao with expressions of anticipation.

“If you hadn’t made a move today, I could have let you go out of consideration for our past relationship, but you insisted on going down the path to your death.”

Wen Yuening tightened her grip on her wrist, constricting the other person's neck even more.

"Master...spare me..."

Where is Qingtang's younger sister?

The veins around Feng Shao's eyes bulged, and his face gradually turned from red to bluish-purple.

“In…in Zhongdu…Yilan Pavilion.”

Wen Yuening didn't intend to kill the person outright, so she loosened her grip slightly, giving the other person a chance to catch their breath.

Qing stepped forward and pressed the person to the ground.

"I believe you still vividly remember the punishments inflicted by the Soul-Hooking Pavilion, and you probably wouldn't want to experience them again. If you honestly answer my questions, I can choose to let you die a quick and painless death; otherwise..."

"I'll answer, I'll answer."

Before Wen Yuening could finish speaking, Feng Shao had already kowtowed four or five times.

Who is your new master?

"I don't actually know either. The other party was extremely cautious both times they came, never showing their true face. Judging from their words and actions, they don't seem to be from the capital, and they are not a real buyer."

Wen Yuening had some idea of ​​what was going on, but she didn't expect to find the person behind Feng Shao.

"What benefits did they promise you that you would dare to break the rules of the cabinet?"

"Yes...the other party is very wealthy and their influence is no less than that of the Soul Hook Pavilion. However, it seems that they cannot be exposed for the time being. They promised me that once I become the head of the Soul Hook Pavilion, I will have five fixed deals every month, each worth five thousand gold coins, regardless of their difficulty."

Wen Yuening clicked her tongue in amazement. Having lived two lives, this was the first time she had ever seen someone so generous.

This can no longer be described as mere wealth. Even if one owned a mine, they couldn't afford to squander it like this. With so much money, it would be more than enough to support a private army.

Twenty-five thousand taels of gold a month is equivalent to two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver. Looking at Nanjing, apart from a few imperial merchants and two large merchant families in the capital, probably no one else could come up with so much money every month.